Ministry of Culture
12th Edition of 7-day cultural extravaganza ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav’ concludes with a grand finale in Hyderabad
“Propagate, and Preserve our tradition and heritage by protecting our art forms and enable artists to stand on their own feet by providing targeted, timely and affordable credit and marketing avenues to artisans” : Vice President, Sri M. Venkaiah Naidu
“The festival has given us an opportunity to recall the sacrifices of our freedom fighters and rededicate ourselves for nation’s building”: Governor of Telangana, Dr. Tamilsai Soundararajan
“Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is a reflection of our country’s diverse cultural traditions, this diversity once again reinforces the fact that we are all Indians”: Governor of Haryana, Sri Bandaru Dattatreya
“India is forging ahead in all fields rigorously and will emerge as the world leader by 2047”: Governor of Tamil Nadu, Sri R.N Ravi
“The Government of India is lending a helping hand to all artistes as they have been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic over the last 2 years. I appeal to all state governments a
Key Highlights :
- “Consider the “C” of Cinema as the fourth “C” of our heritage, in addition to the 3Cs of Culture, Craft and Cuisine”: Dr. K. Chiranjeevi, Former Minister of State  for Tourism, Padma Bhushan Awardee, Distinguished Cine Actor, Brand Ambassador of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav
- “It’s a great matter of pride that the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav has come to the Telugu states for the first time and Rajamahendravarm is the epicentre of Telugu literature and culture”: Dr. Manchu Mohan Babu, Former MP, Distinguished Cine Actor, Brand Ambassador of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav
- “Government of India may consider conducting the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav in all districts to enhance our appreciation”: Smt. M. Vijaya Shanti, Former MP, Distinguished Cine Actor, Brand Ambassador of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav
Under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav ,the 12th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav  concluded with a grand finale in Hyderabad on 3rd April. The festival that was conducted over a period of 7 days started as a two-day event in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh on 26th and 27th March, travelled to Warangal on 29th and 30th of March before culminating with a grand event in Hyderabad on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of April.
The Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav was attended by various dignitaries including Vice President of India Sri Venkaiah Naidu, Governor of Telangana Smt Tamilsai Soundararajan, Governor Sri Biswabhushan Harichandan; Governor of Tamil Nadu, Sri R.N Ravi;Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and DoNER, Sri G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Culture, and Parliamentary Affairs, Sri Arjun Ram Meghwal; Union Minister of State for Culture, and External Affairs Smt Meenakshi Lekhi.
Various artists including Smt Ananda Shankar Jayant, Padmasri awardee; Key Classical Music Performers Sri P. Jaya Bhaskar; Dr. L Subramaniam, along with popular music performers Shankar-Eshaan-Loy took part in the event.
The Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav, the flagship festival of this Ministry, has been organised since 2015 with the active participation of Seven Zonal Culture Centres. The 12th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav has been instrumental in showcasing and reinforcing the 3Cs of our heritage - Culture, Craft and Cuisine. The RSM has been playing a pivotal role to take the vibrant cultural diversity of India out to the masses instead of confining it to auditoria and galleries.
The festival has been instrumental in presenting folk and tribal art, dance, music, cuisines and culture of one state in other states to achieve the cherished goal of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” and at the same time providing an effective platform to the artists and artisans to support their livelihood. Eleven editions of RSM have been held till date since November, 2015 in various states and cities such as Delhi, Varanasi, Bengaluru, Tawang, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tehri, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
This is the first instance of the RSM event in the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the events saw record attendance in all locations. The event also saw close to 10 Padma Awardees grace the stage either as RSM Brand Ambassadors or as performers and also felicitated eminent citizens from all walks of life.
Stage Performances
At the same time, the folk and tribal art, dance, music, cuisines & culture that are being demonstrated provide an effective platform for the artists and artisans to support their livelihood. Approximately 1000 performing artists, culinary artists and craftsmen exhibited their skills and display India’s rich cultural heritage.
The 12th edition of the RSM assumes even more significance owing to the grand vision and the fact that it was taking place as we are emerging out of the COVID-19 pandemic which has severely impacted the livelihoods of performing artists, especially folk artistes. Through this event the ministry has been able to provide the much-needed support and assistance to the artists from across the country. The RSM provided a platform for the Government of India to partner with local governments in supporting artists from the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh by conducting Shobha Yatras, and organising local performance on stage.
The RSM also provided an opportunity to pay rich tributes to popular artists including but not limited to Ms. Lata Mangeshkar, Bharat Ratna awardee on the occasion of her recent sadgati, Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao, Padmashri awardee and legendary Telugu Music Director on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary. SP Balasubramanyam, Padma Vibhushan on the occasion of his sadgati in 2020 and Sirivennela Sitarama Shastri, Padmashri awardee on the occasion of his sadgati in 2021.
The finale folk performance included 540 folk artists in the following traditions:
- Shandol from Ladakh
- Lavani from Maharashtra
- Rai from Madhya Pradesh
- Lambadi from Telangana
- Karsha from Jharkhand
- Rauff from J & K
- Norta from Uttar Pradesh
- Jat-jatin from Bihar
- Sangatham Naga from Nagaland
- Gharasia dance from Rajasthan
- Badhai from Madhya Pradesh
- Mayur dance from Uttar Pradesh
- Jagor from Uttrakhand
- Sangrai Mog from Tripura
- Cherow from Mizoram
- Lai haroba from Manipur
- Bardoishikhala from Assam
- Gunti from Arunachal Pradesh
- Dangi rom Gujarath
- Paidanda from Uttar Pradesh
- Sirmori Nati from Himachal Pradesh
- Ka shad masti from Meghalaya
- Panthi from Chhattisgarh
- Sambalpuri from Odisa
- Siddhi Dhamal from Gujarat
- Chau from West Bengal
Craft Stalls and Exhibitions
The various craft stalls set-up were able to showcase the various craft traditions across India. Apart from the craft stalls, there was an exhibition on prominent Telugu freedom fighters set up by the Ministry of Culture and Regional Outreach Bureau ), Hyderabad and a painting exhibition of Freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju by the Madeti Rajaji Memorial Art Academy.